


These Aren't the SoG

by Rina_Calavera



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Echo straight up is not having a great time my dudes, F/M, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22103050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina_Calavera/pseuds/Rina_Calavera
Summary: In a foolhardy move that almost gets him killed, Zane convinces Mr. E to abandon the Sons of Garmadon. But that's only the beginning of the Nindroid's troubles, and Jay and Nya seem all too familiar with him.
Relationships: P.I.X.A.L./Zane (Ninjago)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 127





	1. These Aren't the SoG

“Please, E, it doesn’t have to be this way!” Zane cried.

Mr. E threw the nindroid across the warehouse. He spat a garbled jumble of soundbites at the master of ice.

Zane struggled to stand up out of the scrap metal and crates. “Let me help you, E.” He pulled himself out of the heap. “We can stop the radio signals. We can stop the remote control. Just let us help.”

E stared at him. Zane held out his hand, a strained smile on his face. He shook his head. Zane took another step forward.

“Step away from the nindroid!”

“Nya no!”

“Zane!”

E could only stare with wide eyes at the impossible sight in front of him. It all seemed to unfold so slowly - surely that wasn’t Zane in front of him, chest being sliced open by his own teammate’s sword. That was impossible.

It wasn't - it couldn’t be.

_But it was._

“Help me!” The water ninja’s desperate voice jolted him out of his daze. Nya sat in front of him, Zane cradled in her arms. “He needs help, please!” E moved in a daze to her side. Zane’s chest gaped open, ripped through with ease on her blade. He could see places where wires had been cut, switches deactivated.

Zane himself stared up with shaking eyes. “W-w-we can,” his voiced glitched with every word. “Help y-y-you.”

E sank to his knees. He quietly reached out towards a wire.  
_Only if you let me help you first._

E quickly rerouted and spliced what wires he could.

_This won’t hold him over for long._

He finished what little help he could give without equipment and looked up at the water ninja. She had cradled Zane’s head in her lap while keeping an eagle eye on his actions.

“Will that hold him?” She asked. E cursed his melted and mangled voice chip.

 _It isn’t that simple,_ he wanted to say. _This will keep him from leaking coolant and oil, but it will not -_

He nodded shortly at her. 

_It will hold long enough for your team to get here._

The ship was luckily there fast. They whisked Zane away faster than he could blink. E tried to ignore the growing apprehension in the back of his mind; the girl hadn’t turned her blade on him yet, not after he’d saved Zane. She seemed the most aggressive of the ninja - other than the fire ninja.

_It will be fine. He assured himself. You got him here in time. You helped him._

His mechanical heart skipped a beat. 

_These are not the SoG._


	2. These Aren't Strangers

He jolted at the hand on his elbow, causing the lightning ninja to jump himself. Jay coughed and straightened. 

“I-I can help you disable the controls.” E looked at him quizzically. “I mean, the uh, whatever it is the SoG are using to keep tabs on you? I can take them away.” He gingerly led the nindroid away to a mechanic’s lab.

It was…chaotic, to say the least. To his relief, Zane was laid on a table in the room, his chest panel opened and - to his surprise - another nindroid stood over him with repair tools.

“Be careful, Jay.” She advised.

The smaller ninja nodded. “I am, Pix. Besides, Cole took his swords.” The other droid nodded, smiling kindly and looking towards E.

“Take care with your patient, too,” she reminded. “We may be artificial, but it can still hurt. Especially when making…unofficial modifications.” Jay nodded in surprise, sparing a quick glance to E.

“Right, sorry. Can you uh - just sit there, for me? Please?”

E sat down on a small stool, slipping off his leather jacket and opening the panel between his shoulders.

_I am going to trust you. Please be careful._

Thinking you could trust someone and actually trusting them were two different things. E could vaguely feel the deep dents his clenched hands put in the table behind Jay’s practiced hands and tools rooting around in his back.

_He’s just deactivating the tracker and control system. Nothing more._

He tried to distract himself by watching Zane’s operation. At least it was another droid working on him.

Zane. His…

What was the right word? Father made him seem like some mythical thing. Were they human, he would be E’s brother. But even their schematics were completely different - Zane was built leisurely, with carefully documented experimental tech. E was thrown together out of a desperate need for family and leftover parts. Zane was sleek chrome titanium; he was tarnished scrap metal.

And yet…Zane had thrown himself in front of E without any hesitation.

Clearly he didn’t have this processing error. He knew where he stood.

Well, E could take a stand, too. Zane was his brother, and he’d nearly shut down proving it.

E wouldn’t let him take that risk ever again.

“All done.”

“How are things going?” Jay’s voice, interrupted by Nya’s, jolted him out of his thoughts.

“Well, I just finished up with uh, what do we call you?” E turned to him with a dry look, only to freeze when he took in the sight in front of him.

A girl with dark hair. A boy with freckles and a scarred eyebrow.

Something glitched in his brain. He scrambled backwards, throwing tools and blueprints across the small workshop.

Pixal looked up in alarm. “Please, stop him! Zane is still fragile!”

_Zane. Danger. Zane. Brother. **DANGER. DANGER. DANGER.**_

He couldn’t think straight.

“Hold him down!”

He had to get out of here.

“Jay, he won’t stop!”

He had to get Zane out of here.

“We’ll have to shut him down!”

_NO NO NO NO -_

**_ERROR. SYSTEM SHUTDOWN INITIATED. SAVING ALL MEMORY BANKS. SHUTTING DOWN._ **

Jay looked breathlessly up at Pixal and Nya.

“What was that?”


	3. These Aren't So Different

_**SYSTEM BOOTING. SYSTEM CHECK: 100%. POWERING ON.** _

E came to with a gasp. He looked around wildly, thrashing against the metal hands holding his arms and pushing on his chest, before a voice broke through the fog.

“Please! Calm down! You are among friends!”

_Friends?_

He stopped thrashing just long enough to look at the face holding him down. The other nindroid - Pixal - looked at him in concern. “Are you alright?”

His fans whirred in his ears - if he wasn’t careful he’d overheat, if he hadn’t started to already. He opened his mouth to speak, glitched and garbled soundbites spilling out. She frowned at the sound.

“Perhaps that can be the next thing we repair for you, if you wish.” She said. “Do you know NSL?” She asked, signing along with her hands.

E stared at the digits for a moment, stunned. The SoG had never…

_These aren’t the SoG._

He nodded, raising his hands up.

_What happened?_

Pixal smiled. “We are not sure. Are you okay? Something scared you.”

_I do not remember. Where is my -_

E balked and put his hands down. 

“Your? I apologize, I did not understand the last word. What is it you are looking for?” Pixal asked.

He shook his head. _Where is Zane?_

She smiled again. “He is fine. I was able to repair the damage, and he is above deck with the others. I came down to check on you after repairing him.” He rose to follow her silently. “E, while we were running diagnostics, I noticed something…unusual.” He gave Pixal a quizzical look. “We were worried what happened was an SoG failsafe. Your systems are undamaged.” 

_That’s a relief._

“But that is not what I wanted to ask you about.” She paused by the doorway. “I noticed something - a signature I have only ever seen once before.”

His eyes widened. Surely she wouldn’t know - but she’s a nindroid, her memories are not subject to change like a human’s. But there’s no way she -

“E, are you and Zane…” She hesitated. “Did Dr. Julien build you, as well?”

E’s blatant shock seemed to confirm her suspicions. 

Pixal looked at him with sad eyes. “I see. Does he know?”

E refused to meet her eyes. He shook his head.

“Do you want him to know?”

_I don’t know._

“He would want to know.”

_I know._

He blinked at the bright light on deck - how long was he out? He let his optics adjust, finally focusing on the people milling about the deck. He found the telltale shine of Zane’s titanium, and let out a growl.

“E!” He ignored Pixal’s shout, diving in front of his brother.

Zane looked at him in alarm. “E, what is going on?”

He looked between Zane and the threats. They all shared the same shocked expression - although the girl looked angrier. Zane cautiously set a hand down on his shoulder. E jolted at the touch, on edge. “E. What is wrong?”

He stared at the nindroid’s concerned face and straightened, putting his hands down. He shook his head. Nothing. Nothing was wrong.

Zane gave him an encouraging smile. “I am glad.” He gestured to the people beside him - Jay and Nya. “Have you formally met? These two are,”

Jay grabbed at Nya’s hand. “H-he knows who we are.”

Zane was silent for a moment, confused. “I see.” He turned back to E. “In any case, I am glad that you are unscathed. And you met Pixal!” E looked in surprise from the dopey smile on his brother’s face to the other nindroid. “She is amazing.” He seemed to shake himself out of his trance, and walked with E to the other side of the deck. “Jay said that your vocal chip was possibly damaged, but you did not seem comfortable with him doing the repair. Would you like Pixal and I to take over repairs to your systems?”

E stood there in surprise. He didn’t recall much of what caused his shutdown, but he had assumed that Nya and Jay would insist on repairs - Ultraviolet certainly had. This change in caregivers was…odd. He stiffly nodded, absently reaching for his throat.

Zane smiled. “Only if you are comfortable, of course.”

_I should tell him._

Zane began to guide him back below deck. “It will take some time, without your original schematics, but,” E let him muse out loud. Schematics wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

_He needs to know. Why can’t I tell him?_

“Pixal’s hands are steadier, of course, but,” Zane paused at the tug on his sleeve. “What is wrong?”

E steeled himself. I need to tell you something. He signed.


	4. These Aren't Easy Conversations

Zane tilted his head. “What is it?”

 _I,_ He hesitated. _It’s just,_

“E?”

He shook his head. _Don’t call me that._

Zane apologized. “Do you prefer the title as well? I can inform the others to address you correctly,”

He shook even harsher this time. _E is not my name._

“Not your…then what is your name? What may we call you?”

This was it. No turning back after this. He steeled himself.

 _Call me Echo._ Should he do it? Could he? _Echo Julien._

Time stood still. Echo dared to glance at Zane, only to see blue LED eyes wide with shock. “Jul…” Zane’s voice trailed off to a whisper. “Julien?” He blinked. “I do not understand.”

“It is true, Zane.” Pixal’s voice startled them both. “I saw his wiring. His mechanisms.” She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “He…” She gave Echo a glance. “He has the same signature you do.”

The words seem to give him a secondary shock. Echo watched him warily. 

“You mean you…” Zane’s circuits seemed fried. “I…”

Echo chanced a direct look at Zane. _We’re brothers. Dr. Julien – he built me, too._

“Brother…?” Zane whispered.

This was it. He was going to be called a liar and cast out, told to go far away. Banished, just like before.

 _You don’t have to respond._ He fought the trembling in his frame. He could do this. _Thank you for helping me leave the SoG. I can be gone by morning –_

His hands are interrupted by a sudden weight, his muscles and joints freezing at the feeling. Zane held him close as he took in a shuddering breath. “I thought I was the only one.” 

Echo stood there, stunned.

He pulled back from the hug, hands on Echo’s frozen shoulders. “I will not stop you from leaving, if that is what you truly wish.” He blinked away the ghost of tears in his eyes. “But please, do not go in some attempt to appease me.”

He frowned. “I do have one question. Why did you never,” He hesitated. “Why go to the SoG at all? Why not come find me? Where have you been?”

Echo’s face darkened. _It was not my choice._ he signed. _It…I didn’t…_

He steeled himself. _It was them. The dark-haired girl. That boy with the notch in his eyebrow._

Zane looked at him in confusion. “Nya and Jay? They would never hide something like this from me, Nya of all people knows,”

 _THEY LEFT ME TO RUST._ Echo couldn’t stop the tears slipping down his face. _ALONE!_ He could feel his circuits sparking, angry and hurt. Zane sucked in a breath, stunned by the outburst. _I had been there…_ he glared through the tears and kept on with trembling hands. _For **so** long…_ It had been months…months upon years of silence and loneliness. _I thought…when they showed up in that boat…that they’d take me to father._

_Or at least take me away._

_But they didn’t._ His hands trembled more with each word as enraged tears streaked down his face. _They left me. And then!_ His crumbling and corroded voice chip crackled and sparked with the effort. _They acted like I never existed. Like I was a bad dream…they could just forget._

Arms wrapped around him again, this time shaking with shared anger. “You are no nightmare.” Zane ground out. “And you are not someone to forget.”

Echo held onto his brother as his circuits sparked and spasmed with his frustration.

“I am so sorry.” Zane looked up to the doorway they’d entered. “I should have known. Should have…by the First Master I am so sorry.” He set his jaw. “I am going to make this right, I swear it.”

Echo could feel his systems beginning to strain with the stress of everything. He leaned heavily into Zane with a shaking frame.

“Rest, little brother. Let me step up for once.”


	5. These Aren't Simple Problems

After convincing Echo to rest in his cabin, Zane marched up on deck.

Jay turned at the sound of metal on wood. “Is everything okay? Were you able to get his voice chip,” He cut off as Zane grabbed his shoulder and whirled the smaller ninja around.

“Explain. Now.”

The other ninja reeled at the steely tone of Zane’s voice. He clenched his fist at his side.

Jay’s eyes stared up at him with dawning realization. Nya brought a hand up to her mouth in understanding.

Zane seethed with impatience.

“He told me you left him. Explain! Please, tell me you,” His voice faltered, glitching with emotion. “Tell me you did not leave my brother alone in that tower.” Jay stared up in stunned silence.

Kai sputtered from his spot near the railing. “Brother?!” Cole thumped his back while keeping an eye on Zane – this outburst of emotion was rare.

“Zane, we, I mean,” Jay fumbled his words. “I’m sorry.”

The anger drained out of the nindroid’s face, replaced by shock. “So it is true?” Nya reached a hand out to steady the nindroid. “No!” He shrugged off her hand and stumbled backwards. “You – you actually,” The ninja’s hearts broke at the look in his eyes. “He,” He grit his teeth together. “You knew he was there?”

Nya cast her eyes down. “We…we hoped that it was all a part of the Djinn’s magic affecting the world. We went back and looked in the hidden basement, but…by then he was gone.”

Zane trembled. “Of course he was gone. Of course!” The others stood back as he stalked back and forth. “How long did you wait?” He asked. “I have no recollection of the Djinn you two insist attacked, and it felt like we barely fought off Morro before the Time Twins attacked. How long was it?!” He stepped toward Jay again. “Did you wait until after you had gone looking for Wu?! Was he more important than the only family I had left?!” The blue ninja winced away at Zane’s volume.

Cole stepped forward, placing a hand on Zane’s shoulder. “Zane, we’re your family too,” The nindroid held his gaze with trembling eyes. “All of us.”

Tears finally threatened to spill over. “They left him, Cole.” The burly ninja wrapped him in his arms. “They knew,” Zane cried. “They knew we were both on our own, and they left him.”

Cole looked over Zane’s shoulder at the two shaken ninjas. They’d have a long conversation about this later. He took in a breath. “Maybe we should leave this be for now, buddy. I think you need a breather.”

He kept his arm around the nindroid to hold him steady as they walked down below deck. Jay and Nya watched wordlessly as the two descended. As Zane’s figure disappeared into the ship, Jay sank to his knees.

Nya and Kai knelt next to him. He sniffed and stared after the now closed door. “I,” he stammered. “We just…we thought we imagined it.” He looked at Kai with pleading eyes. “We wanted to have imagined it.”

Nya ran a soothing hand along his back. “We should have known. We should have told him. We just…”

Kai sighed and looked after where his two teammates had retreated.

This wasn’t going to be an easy fix.


	6. This Isn't Something You Can Take Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai processes things, while Jay and Nya realize just how much this hurts.

Kai let Jay catch his breath on the deck. Outwardly, he sat back and let Nya soothe the lightning ninja into calm. Inwardly, he reeled from Zane’s outburst.

Even aside from Zane’s unusual anger, the information he shared was startling.

A brother?

He’d tried to mask it with anger, but Kai could hear that hurt in his voice. Kai thought back to when Nya had been stolen away – first by Garmadon, then again, by the Overlord. He’d been desperate. It felt like a piece of him was missing, like it could be burned away at any moment, and there was nothing he could do to save it.

It was a selfish fear, but it was real.

And Zane…Zane didn’t even have that. He hadn’t even known. To find out this way, to find out that your brother had been actively fighting you, actively hurting, and you didn’t even know he was there?

Kai would have torn someone apart.

Nya’s voice broke into his reflection.

“Kai? What…are you angry with us?”

Kai drew in a breath, pulling his hand to his mouth. His sister always could tell when he was holding back. “I don’t know,” he mumbled.

Jay’s voice trembled. “You don’t know?”

Kai sighed. “I mean…” He rose to his feet and paced around the deck. “Do you know?” He asked. “Do you know what you did? What this did to Zane?”

Nya stared at him. “We get it, we should have told him, we don’t need you,”

Kai turned to face his sister. “Do you get it?” He held her stunned gaze. “Nya, this isn’t just hiding some rewritten timeline. This is – I mean, by the First, it would have been kinder to just tell him about E without mentioning the Djinn!” Kai could feel his anger slipping further and further from his control as his steps quickened.

“We didn’t mean to hurt,”

Kai cut Jay off with his hand slashing through the air. “It doesn’t matter what you meant! Don’t you understand?” He could taste the smoke he spat with each word. “He,” Kai paused to find the words among the anger.

“That’s a part of him. That’s a part of home. Damn it, why could neither of you see that?” Now he paced to avoid scorching the Bounty’s deck. “It doesn’t matter that he might not have remembered you,” Kai scoffed. “Which clearly, he did. It doesn’t matter that the conversation might have been weird or inexplicable. None of that matters!” He stopped, hands thrown in the air.

Kai ran a hand through his hair. “Jay, you know how important family is. Nya, you should know how it feels to kept away!” He dropped to a quiet murmur. “I know how it feels to be left behind.”

He looked up at them with disappointed eyes. “So yeah. I am angry with you. I’m angry for him. For both of them.” He motioned to the lower deck. “And I’m just…I don’t know.”

The three of them stood in silence, Kai’s smoke trailing into the air.

He stood, hands on hips, staring at the ground.

Nya and Jay stood together, unwilling or unable to break the silence around them.

Another moment passed, and he looked back at them. “This isn’t something you can take back,” he said.


	7. You Aren't In Danger

Zane’s cabin was quiet. Echo sat in a chair Pixal had taken from the common area, while she and Cole sat next to Zane on his bed. The ninja was slumped against Cole, a miserable expression on his face.

“I am so,”

Echo shook his head. _This was not your fault. That much is clear now._ He cast his eyes down. _I am sorry I have caused so much distress._

Pixal frowned. “This is neither your fault nor yours,” She turned to Zane. “This is,” she faltered. “This…”

“This sucks.” Cole said, catching all three nindroids off guard. He looked up at them. “Well? It does.” He continued. “Jay and Nya are good people, but what they did to you was unforgivable.” Echo blinked, at a loss for words. “And Zane, you’re beating yourself up over something you could never have known.”

Zane blinked then, as dumbfounded as his brother.

Cole looked around the faces of the room. “Am I wrong?”

Zane closed his eyes and folded his face in his hands. “I just do not understand,” His voice continued, muffled by metal hands. “Jay...Nya…why would they – why hide this from me? Why,” he turned to Echo. “Why leave you? They are not,” His eyes turned to Cole in search of an answer. “You said it yourself, they are not bad people. I do not understand…” Pixal rubbed his back with a patient hand as the nindroid’s voice faded again.

“I do not know why…but surely, there is a reason?” Echo quietly watched; Pixal’s voice hummed with uncertainty. “It is…highly unusual for them.”

They sat like that for another tense moment, Zane’s face hidden in hands and Pixal’s hand trailing over his back. Cole stood to quietly stare out of the window. Echo just stared at Zane; he appreciated the upset, he really did…but…it made no sense. Zane wasn’t the one left behind, he was. He hadn’t felt that pain; Echo had.

And yet…Echo tilted his head at Zane’s miserable form. Somehow, his brother seemed just as hurt by all of this as he was.

“Zane’s a very empathetic person.” Cole’s quiet voice made him jump. “He may not have been in that lighthouse with you…but just imagining you being there, being alone, for so long…” Cole sighed and wrapped an arm around him.

Echo was surprised at its weight.

And its warmth.

“And he blames himself.”

Zane looked up with a protesting sound, which Cole brushed off. “I’m right, and you know it.” He shook his head and gave Echo a smile. “The tin can’s a good one, but he’s too harsh on himself. A perfect older brother, if you ask me.”

Echo looked between them, Pixal, Cole, and Zane. It – they made no sense. Cole had just said that Zane was ‘too harsh’…but that made him perfect. Perfections were neither too much nor too little – how could he be too harsh and still perfect?

Pixal smiled at his expression. “You will learn to understand Cole.” She reassured.

Echo smiled.


	8. This Won't Be Difficult

The table felt cold under him, and Echo fought to keep calm.

He wasn’t used to such sensations. He looked off to the side.

Zane caught his eye and smiled encouragingly. “Do not worry,” He assured. “I trust Pixal with all of my core.”

Echo breathed out a heavy sigh. It was okay. Zane was here. He was okay.

“Are you ready?”

He looked up at Pixal. She sat in a tall chair over him, the overhead light blinding behind her. Her expression was calm and comforting, even as she double checked the row of tools on her tray.

His eyes shifted over to the tray itself. Beyond the tools, a new voice box sat, shiny and impeccable.

Its sleek chrome was wholly different from the rest of him.

Zane said he was welcome to make whatever changes he wanted.

The voice box was all he wanted for now.

He breathed out a shaky exhale. _Yes,_ he signed. _I am ready._

Pixal smiled. “It will be very quick, I promise.” She settled into her chair. “Lay back,” She instructed. “I will need you to be very still, alright, Echo?”

Echo gave a small nod and stilled, closing his eyes.

“Just a few moments, Echo.”

It was strange feeling someone root around in his systems.

Well. Strange to feel someone rooting around with care and purpose. Strange to feel only pressure, not pain or discomfort. Pixal’s hands and instruments were gentle and precise; she touched only where she needed to and nowhere else.

When she pulled out the mangled remains of his old voice box, he actually felt lighter.

She leaned over to set it on the counter, and he sighed.

It even felt nicer to breathe without it weighing on him.

The new voice box slid in with a quiet click. Pixal closed his throat, setting her tools on the tray and clicking the light off. “You can get up now, Echo.”

He slowly pulled himself up. His hand moved up to his throat. He looked up at Zane.

The nindroid nodded. “How does it feel?”

Echo hesitated. He hadn’t spoken in so long…Zane said it was finished, but…

“I,” His eyes widened. His voice came out clear and without pain. “It feels…right,” A smile broke out across his face. “It feels right!” A laugh bubbled out of his chest, the feeling warm and achingly familiar.

Zane and Pixal matched his grin. “Congratulations!” He joined in on the laughter. “It worked!”

“It worked!” Echo shouted.

Metal arms wrapped around him. Echo jumped before leaning into the hug, happy tears streaming down his face. Pixal joined in too, a matching smile on her face. “Congratulations, Echo.”

“It worked.” Echo whispered. His throat felt clear, felt free of static and pain glittering his every breath. It felt even better than he ever remembered it being.

Zane caught his eye. “Are you alright?”

Echo looked at him with shining eyes. “Thank you.” He said.

Zane smiled. “Anything for you, little brother.”


End file.
